1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display device for a vehicle that displays information on energy consumed by the vehicle.
2. Related Art
Electric automobiles that carry a battery and are driven by a motor powered by the battery, and hybrid automobiles that are driven by a motor and an engine started getting popular in recent years. For example, WO 2012/153395 and WO 2008/056529 propose display devices for a vehicle that display drive power of a motor transmitted to the wheels of such a vehicle.
In such display devices for a vehicle, a running mode is determined according to the drive power, so that where the drive power is equal to or higher than a threshold, a power mode is determined, and where the driver power is less than the threshold, an eco mode is determined, and the determined running mode can be made visible.
It is essentially desirable that a driver be notified of the running mode, such as the eco mode or power mode, so that the waste of energy supplied from a battery or fuel could be suppressed. However, in the display devices for a vehicle disclosed in the aforementioned WO 2012/153395 and WO 2008/056529, only the value of the drive power is displayed.
In the abovementioned display devices for a vehicle, for example, where the vehicle is driven on a steeply ascending road, the drive power increases and the power mode can be uniformly reported, and where the vehicle runs downhill, the drive power decreases and the eco mode can be uniformly displayed. Thus, the waste of energy in the running vehicle is difficult to suppress while referring to information, such as a running mode, that is displayed on the conventional display device for a vehicle.